If you see a someone collecting food outside your grocery store this Sunday, October 2, consider buying an extra box of pasta or jar of peanut butter and put it into their cart to help a neighbor in need.
Volunteers will be outside grocery stores all across North Jersey on Sunday hoping to collect 100 tons of food for the hungry across the area. This is the largest one-day food drive in the metropolitan area, sponsored by Action Against Hunger, a community service program administered on behalf of the North Jersey Media Group Foundation. The food and monetary donations collected benefit area food pantries throughout the area, including Oasis-A Haven for Women and Children in Paterson, who last year gave out over 4,000 food bags.
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At food pantries, like Oasis, it is not uncommon these days to have bare shelves. "Our food pantry has been practically empty all summer," said Jim Walsh, Director of Social Services at Oasis. "Most people think to donate during the holiday season, but not year-round. Hunger is a year-round issue."
So, if you see a volunteer at your grocery store this Sunday, please consider picking up some extra items in the store—peanut butter, rice, pasta, canned meat & fish, cereal, baby food, diapers, formula. Or you can also make a monetary donation. Hundreds of thousands of households right in your back yard depend on food pantries to survive. You can make a difference to your North Jersey neighbors.
